Legislation of French Revolution on trade associations; law le Chapelier, 1791--Laws of Napoleon--Prohibition of strikes--Violation of these laws--Secret labor organizations in France: compagnonnages, societies of resistance--Revolution of 1848 and the co-operative movement--Influence of Louis Blanc--Reaction during the fifties--Revival of labor movement in 1862--Effort of French Workingmen to break legal barriers--New law on strikes in 1864--Toleration of labor unions by Government of Napoleon III--Syndicats and co-operation--Failure of co-operative central bank in 1868--Communistic and Revolutionary tendencies in "The International"--Success of "The International" in 1869--Franco-Prussian War and its influence on the French labor movement 19 CHAPTER II ORIGIN OF THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR (1871-1895) The influence of the Commune on the syndicats--Barberet and his rôle in the syndical movement (1872-78)--The first Labor Congress in France (1886)--Acceptance of the Socialist program by the syndicats at the congress of Marseilles (1879)--The Socialist groups in France: Guesdists, Broussists, Allemanists, Blanquists, Independents, Anarchists--Their points of agreement and of difference--Influence of socialist divisions on development of labor organizations--Attempts of syndicats to form a central organization--The National Federation of Syndicats; its failure--The Bourse du Travail--The Federation of Bourses du Travail--The idea of the general strike--Its conception--Criticism by Guesdists--Split in National Federation of Syndicats--Formation of General Confederation of Labor by advocates of general strike and opponents of Guesdists 45 CHAPTER III THE FEDERATION OF BOURSES DU TRAVAIL Importance of Bourses du Travail; their rapid growth--Municipal and governmental subventions--Program of Bourses du Travail--Federation of Bourses du Travail organized in 1892--Its original purpose--Fernand Pelloutier Secretary of Federation--His rôle and influence--Conception of syndicat as the cell of future society--Growth of Federation of Bourses; its relations with the General Confederation of Labor 73 CHAPTER IV THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR FROM 1895-1902